Symmetrical golf tee



y 1, 1964 B. A. EYER 3,141,671

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United States Patent 3,141,671 SYMMETRECAL GGLF TEE Bird A. Eyer, 34% Magnolia Blvd, Seattle, Wash. Filed Sept. 21, W62, Ser. No. 225,258 3 lCiairns. (Cl. 273--33) This invention relates to golf equipment and more particularly to an improved golf tee.

It is a general object of this invention to provide a golf tee which will support a golf ball in properly teed position from most any type of ground surface, and which is especially handy to use, in that regardless of the position or manner in which the tee is placed on a ground surface, the tee is able to satisfactorily perform its ball supporting function.

Another object is to provide a golf tee which is such that when the club head, in striking the ball, also hits the tee, the tee will be caused to travel only a short distance so that the tee can easily be retrieved.

It is a further object to provide a tee which is sufficiently compact and lacks any sharp points or edges, so that it may conveniently be carried by a person on a golf course.

It is another object to provide a tee whose shape is such that the tee lends itself to being made by injection molding, and whose function is such that it performsrnost desirably when it is made of yielding material which is especially adapted to being formed by an injection molding process.

It is yet another object to provide a golf tee which, while accomplishing the ends of the aforementioned objects, has a configuration and overall appearance such that it is especially adapted for use as a novelty item.

Other more particular objects and advantages of the invention will, with the foregoing, appear and be understood in the course of the following description and claims, the invention consisting in the novel construction and in the adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a golf tee embodying preferred teachings of my invention, with a golf ball shown schematically in its teed position.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of my golf tee.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, it can be seen that the golf tee, designated 10, has the general configuration of a regular octahedron so as to comprise eight faces 11, and six apical tips 12 arranged symmetrically with respect to all axes passing through the tee. However, the tee departs from the exact shape of a regular octahedron in that each of the faces 11 are made concave with a degree of curvature at least as great as a standard golf ball, and the tips 12 are made moderately blunt.

Thus, while each group of three proximate apical points 12 defines the apices of an equilateral triangle, the three edges 13 of the face 11 which joins such three apical points, curve inwardly toward the center of the tee, and, consequently, toward each other. Also, as a consequence of so making the faces concave, the portion of the tee adjacent the six apical tips 12 form six radially extending arms 14, each arm being disposed at right angles to its proximate four arms, and at 180 to the remaining arm. With the arms so arranged, the plane of each of the eight triangles defined by a related group of three proximate 3,141,671 Ce Patented July 21, 1964 apical points is parallel to the plane defined by the other three apical points at the opposite side of the tee.

In operation, the tee is dropped or placed on the ground, with the tee coming to rest on three proximate apical tips 12. Regardless of which of the eight possible combinations of three tips is providing ground support, the other three tips will be projecting upwardly and outwardly from each other in a manner to provide a seat for the golf ball. This is illustrated in FIG. 1, with a golf ball (shown schematically at 15) being held in its properly teed position by the three upwardly reaching arms.

When the player drives the golf ball, the club head, at the lower limit of its arc of travel, moves with considerable speed. As the face of the club head meets the ball, the lower part of the club head will often strike the tee, usually at the upper portion thereof, causing the tee to be propelled forward. This impact at the upper portion of the tee imparts a top spin to the tee, similar to the spin a pitcher imparts to a drop ball, which spinning motion causes the tee to descend rather abruptly. That is to say, the tee follows a path along a downward curve that has a sharper drop than would be the case if the tee were propelled outwardly without such a top spin.

Further, the fact that the tee is formed with outwardly projecting arms 14 intensifies this drop curve effect in that the frictional drag at the top of the tee, where the arms are moving into the air stream, is greater than would be the case if there were no such projections. The overall effect is that while the golf ball, when properly hit, travels far down the fairway, the tee travels a relatively short distance so that it may readily be retrieved.

The tee should be made from a material which will withstand the impact of a club head, which yields sufliciently so that the tee will not dent or chip the club head, and yet which has sufficiently low resiliency so that it will not be propelled from the club head at an undesirably high speed nor bounce excessively when it strikes the ground. Present testing has shown polyethylene to be a satisfactory material, but other materials which are similar to polyethylene with respect to the above-named characteristics would also be satisfactory.

It is believed that the invention will have been clearly understood from the foregoing detailed description of my now-preferred illustrated embodiment. Changes in the details of construction may he resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention and it is accordingly my intention that no limitations be implied and that the hereto annexed claims be given the broadest interpretation to which the employed language fairly admits.

What I claim is:

l. A golf tee made from yielding material of relatively low resiliency and having the overall configuration of a regular octahedron, each side of which has a concave face with three adjacent apical tips disposed in the pattern of an equilateral triangle so that there is a total of eight concave faces and six apical tips, each of said tips protruding outwardly a sufiicient distance from the adjoining faces so that any group of three tips is able to support a golf ball thereon, with the remaining three tips providing ground support for the tee.

2. A golf tee comprising a core portion and six protruding elements rigidly secured to said core and extend ing radially therefrom, each of said elements extending at right angles to its four proximate elements and disposed diametrically opposite to the other element, said elements each having an end tip, with the elements being so arranged that any group of at least three proximate tips defines the apexes of a triangular polygon, the plane of which is parallel to another polygon, the apexes of which are defined by a group of at least three proximate tips at the opposite side of said tee, and the triangular polygons thus defined collectively forming a regular octahedron, the tips of said elements protruding outwardly a suflicient distance from the core so that when said tee is supported from a ground surface by any group of at least three proximate tips, the group of tips at the top side of said tee define a seat sufiiciently deep to accommodate the convex surface of a golf ball which is supported by the tips at the top side of said tee, whereby said tee can support a golf ball While resting on any group of proximate tips.

3. The golf tee as recited in claim 2 wherein said golf tee is made from a yielding material of relatively low resiliency.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A GOLF TEE MADE FROM YIELDING MATERILA OF RELATIVELY LOW RESILICENCY AND HAVING THE OVERALL CONFIGURATION OF A REGULAR OCTAHEDRON, EACH SIDE OF WHICH HAS A CONCAVE FACE WITH THREE ADJACENT APICAL TIPS DISPOSED IN THE PATTERN OF AN EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE SO THAT THERE IS A TOTAL OF EIGHT CONCAVE FACES AND SIX APICAL TIPS, EACH OF SAID TIPS PROTRUDING OUTWARDLY A SUFFICIENT DISTANCE FROM THE ADJOINING FACES SO THAT ANY GROUP OF THREE TIPS IS ABLE TO SUPPORT A GOLF BALL THEREON, WITH THE REMAINING THREE TIPS PROVIDING GROUND SUPPORT FOR THE TEE. 